Overview of Reference Data Sets in Oracle Fusion Applications

Reference Data Sets (RDS) in Oracle Fusion Applications allows either the sharing of Master Data Objects (i.e. Payment Terms, Set of Books, etc.) across Business Units or makes it exclusive to a specific Business Unit. It basically partitions the Master Data Objects on which BUs get access to it.

There are two seeded RDS, "Common" and "Enterprise".

1. Common: This RDS allows the access of Master Data Objects Across all Business Units (Global in Scope)
2. Enterprise: This RDS only allows access of Master Data Objects to the specific Business Unit (Local in Scope).

Most Organizations create new Enterprise Reference Data Sets depending on their need. A common naming convention is to name the Reference Data Sets as the same as the Business Unit.

To Create a new Reference Data Set, navigate to "Setup and Maintenance" > Search for the Task named "Manage Reference Data Sets" and create the name of the Data Set there.

To Assign a Reference Data Set to a Business Unit, navigate to "Setup and Maintenance" > Search for the Task named "Manage Business Units" and edit the existing Business Unit you want to assign the Reference Data Set to.

In this case, our Business Unit in our sample named "Eagle" is assigned to the seeded "COMMON" data set, which grants the Eagle Business Unit all Reference Data that is assigned to the "COMMON" RDS.

For a Master Data Object to be assigned to a RDS, navigate to "Setup and Maintenance" > Search for the Task named "Manage Business Unit Set Assignment" and setup your needed Reference Data Object to the appropriate RDS:

In some complex cases, we can make a specific value in a Reference Data Object "shared" across Business Units. Take Payable Payment Terms as a sample below.

SET ASSIGNMENT

Business Unit	Reference Data Object	Reference Data Set Name
US1	AR Payment Term	US1SET
US2	AR Payment Term	US2SET
US3	AR Payment Term	COMMON

SETUP DATA

Reference Data Set Name	AR Payment Term
US1SET	NET30
US1SET	NET45
COMMON	NET30
COMMON	IMMEDIATE
US2SET	NET45
ORGSET	NET30

QUESTIONS

A User under a specific Business Unit is trying to create an AR Invoice. Using the SET ASSIGNMENT and SETUP DATA provided, What are the Payment Terms visible to the User?

1. The User is under Business Unit "US1"
2. The User is under Business Unit "US2"
3. The User is under Business Unit "US3"

ANSWERS

The Payment Terms visible to the User would be:

1. NET30, NET45 and IMMEDIATE
2. NET30, NET45 and IMMEDIATE
3. NET30 and IMMEDIATE

The reason both US1 and US2 show the same Payment terms is because NET30 and IMMEDIATE are under the "COMMON" configuration, and therefore are available to all Business Units.

If you want to make it exclusive the US1 or US2, the Setup for those Payment Terms should be removed for "COMMON".

In another Example, The diagram below shows that the specific Payment Term "NET 30" is shared between 3 Reference Data Sets (US1, US2 and Special Shared Set). This can be achieved by using the correct setup and making sure there are no common values. More information on this can be found from Understanding Enterprise Structures: Reference Data.

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Advantages of using Oracle Fusion Applications over E-Business Suite

Last Updated: March 30, 2019

Just sharing some of my notes on some advantages of using Oracle Fusion Applications as compared to Oracle E-Business Suite R12. This might get updated over time as I go along my journey on the Cloud. :)

• Oracle Fusion Applications already has seeded Business Intelligence & Analytics, and Essbase (formerly known as Hyperion) is already integrated with General Ledger for Multi-Dimensional reporting. On the other hand you would need to purchase separate licenses for Oracle E-Business Suite, Hyperion and Oracle Business Intelligence.
• Has already built-in Invoice Imaging for invoice integration with third-party organizations. A Vendor just needs to send a scanned copy of an Invoice to a specific email address used by the system and Oracle Fusion automatically puts it into the Interface for processing.
• Allows the use of SOAP Web Services for data integrations with third-party organizations (using the built-in ERP Integration Service) and already supports data encryption.
• Simplified Look and Feel and easier navigation.
• Oracle Fusion Applications already has a Social Network within the application for messaging and file-sharing within the organization (though I believe this will be highly unused as Microsoft already has an established messaging application such as Teams and Skype for Business).
• The fact that you won't need to install a Java plugin makes everything so much easier. Just navigate to the application's URL and you're already set.
• You only need to setup your configurations from one place ("Setup and Maintenance") unlike in EBS where you have to navigate to each application's Super User responsibility.
• The use of Business Intelligence applications such as Infolets, Infotiles and Sunburst for better and faster decision-making based on real-time data.
• Centralized Financial reports in Financial Reporting Center (FRC) and provides a multitude of seeded reports that cater to government requirements
• Easily accessible from Mobile phones, just use a browser
• Spreadsheet Integration for most Financial Applications (Recievables, Payables, Assets, GL, etc.) to be used for data entry, correction, deletion or data updates.